Albert Almora Jr. was the first of three baserunners to touch home plate on Victor Caratini's bases-clearing double. (Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports)
Cubs score nine unanswered runs to down Cardinals |
by Cole Little
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Senior Writer
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Sat Jun 08 22:59:06 GMT-05:00 2019
CHICAGO — By scoring nine unanswered runs, the Chicago Cubs (36-27) made a 4-run first inning manufactured by the St. Louis Cardinals (31-31) a distant memory on Saturday night. The Cubs recorded five extra-base hits in the contest and outscored the Cardinals 9-0 following the top of the first. In the 9-4 victory at Wrigley Field, Cubs starter Jon Lester recovered after getting shellacked in the first frame and went on to produce a solid 6-inning outing.
The Cardinals mustered five hits on the evening, and four of them came in the opening inning. Marcell Ozuna put the Redbirds up 3-0 with a 3-run home run, and, a few at-bats later, Harrison Bader made the score 4-0 with a solo blast. The Cubs quickly recovered and tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty struggled, lasting just 3 2/3 innings on the hill, and he allowed the Cubs' first three batters of the game to all reach base. A fielder's choice groundout by Javier Baez and an RBI single by Willson Contreras contributed to the Cubs cutting the Cardinals' lead in half.
Following a leadoff walk of Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the third, Baez came through with his second triple of the season. The RBI 3-bagger caromed off the wall in deep left field, allowing Baez to reach third base. Rizzo scored on the play to pull the Cubs within a run of the Cards. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Kyle Schwarber ended Flaherty's start by hammering a 407-foot solo bomb to right-center for his 12th homer of 2019, thus tying the game at 4-4.
The bottom of the sixth saw the Cubs take control of the ballgame, as they registered four runs on four hits that all came before the first out was recorded. Pinch hitting for Lester, Victor Caratini smacked a bases-clearing double into the left-field corner that pushed three runs across. Caratini was then plated himself on an ensuing RBI double off the bat of Schwarber.
David Bote provided the Cubs with their ninth and final run of the win when he tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Addison Russell in the bottom of the seventh. By way of the 9-4 triumph, the Cubs earned the series victory and now stand at 5-1 with one game remaining in their 7-game homestand.
| St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs |
| Jun 8, 2019 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| St. Louis (31-31) |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
| Chicago (36-27) |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
- |
9 |
10 |
0 |
| W: Jon Lester (5-4) L: John Brebbia (1-3) |
